End of an era, for now: Orioles trade Manny Machado to Dodgers

ANAHEIM, CA - MAY 02: Manny Machado #13 of the Baltimore Orioles throws out Ian Kinsler #3 of the Los Angeles Angels during the third inning at Angel Stadium on May 2, 2018 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

End of an era, for now: Orioles trade Manny Machado to Dodgers

ANAHEIM, CA - MAY 02: Manny Machado #13 of the Baltimore Orioles throws out Ian Kinsler #3 of the Los Angeles Angels during the third inning at Angel Stadium on May 2, 2018 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

BALTIMORE — It’s official, the Manny Machado era in Baltimore is over — at least for now.

The Baltimore Orioles announced Wednesday night that Machado has been dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for five prospects, confirming reports of the four-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove award winner’s destination.

The minor leaguers are headlined by 21-year-old outfielder Yusniel Diaz, of Cuba. Diaz was Los Angeles’ fourth-ranked prospect, according to MLBPipeline.com. He is ranked the 84th-best prospect in baseball. In 59 games for Double-A Tulsa, the right-handed hitter batted .314 with 10 doubles, four triples, six home runs and 30 RBIs.

On Sunday, Diaz homered twice in the 2018 MLB Futures Game at Nationals Park.

The four other prospects include infielders Rylan Bannon and Breyvic Valera as well as right-handed pitchers Dean Kremer and Zach Pop.

Bannon, 22, played in 89 games this season with Class A-Advanced Rancho Cucamonga. He recorded a .296 batting average with 17 doubles, six triples, 20 home runs and 61 RBIs. The 2017 MLB First-Year Player draftee was the Dodgers’ 27th-ranked prospect. Valera, 26, split 2018 between the big league club and Triple-A Oklahoma City. He batted .284 with six home runs and 25 RBIs in 56 games with Oklahoma City.

Kremer, also 22, was recently promoted from Class A-Advanced Rancho Cucamonga to Double-A Tulsa. In 17 combined starts between the two levels, the right-hander registered a 3.03 ERA with 125 strikeouts and just 29 walks. Kremer, selected in the 14th round of the 2017 MLB Draft, ranked as the 28th-best prospect in the Los Angeles organization. Pop, 21, made 30 appearances between Class-A Great Lakes and Class-A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga this season. He tallied a 1.04 ERA and had 47 strikeouts coming out of the bullpen. He was promoted to Double-A Tulsa two days ago. Pop was also selected in the 2017 MLB Draft but in the seventh round.

Trading away the 26-year-old big league third baseman turned shortstop shouldn’t come as a surprise considering Baltimore’s abysmal first half, in which the team won just 28 of its 97 games heading into the All-Star break. During that period, Machado shined — hitting .315 with 24 home runs and 65 RBIs.

Machado, selected third-overall by the Orioles in 2010, played over 860 career games with Baltimore. He hit .283 with 197 doubles, 10 triples, 162 home runs and knocked in 471 runs.

He made his debut in 2012, just about the exact time when Baltimore’s resurgence began.

Dan Duquette, Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations, had this to say on Wednesday’s trade:

“Manny Machado provided Orioles fans with many great memories over his eight years in Birdland. We will always appreciate his talent and we wish him the best in the National League.

“As we begin the task of rebuilding our roster to compete in the AL East, we look forward to the contributions of the five players we added to the organization today.

“Diaz is a young and gifted hitter, Valera and Bannon are versatile fielders with excellent on-base skills and Kremer and Pop’s excellent seasons are indicative of their bright futures.”